Calcium's Role in Bone and Teeth

The optimal health and strength of human bones rely on a balanced diet and a continuous supply of essential nutrients, with special emphasis on the significance of calcium and Vitamin D.

Calcium assumes the responsibility of constructing, shaping, and maintaining bones and teeth. This function plays a critical role in reducing the occurrence of osteoporosis. Beyond its role in reinforcing dental and skeletal structures, calcium also carries importance for the body's blood vessels, muscles, and bodily fluids.

For infants and young children, calcium is essential for the development of sturdy teeth and bones, while adults require it to support strong teeth and a solid skeletal framework. Inadequate calcium intake leads to weakened bones and more fragile, porous teeth. Unfortunately, a significant portion of the American population fails to meet the recommended calcium intake.

Osteoporosis doesn't solely affect bones; it can also impact teeth by weakening the jawbone. This condition raises concerns for oral health due to its potential to develop in the jawbones, leading to tooth loss. As bone mineralization and density decrease, the risk of periodontal disease increases.

All of these issues can be avoided by obtaining adequate calcium, either through dietary sources or supplementation, which in turn can provide protection and reinforcement to teeth. People can achieve the recommended daily calcium intake by incorporating a nutritious diet that includes a variety of calcium-rich foods. Dairy products like milk, yogurt, and cheese stand out as primary sources of calcium. Other foods rich in calcium include:

~Leafy greens like kale, broccoli, and Chinese cabbage (bok choy)
~Fish with soft bones such as sardines and salmon
~Various types of bread, pasta, and grains
~Calcium-fortified cereals, juices, and beverages

Calcium from food makes its way through the body alongside other nutrients, eventually reaching the bone marrow. From there, it is transported to the teeth and integrated into the enamel. Consequently, calcium plays a pivotal role in maintaining both skeletal and dental health.
Calcium's Role in Bone and Teeth

Microminerals

Minerals are inorganic substances, present in all body tissues and fluids and their presence is necessary for the maintenance of certain physicochemical processes which are essential to life. Minerals are chemical constituents used by the body in many ways.

Essential minerals are sometimes divided up into major minerals (macrominerals) and trace minerals (microminerals). These two groups of minerals are equally important, but trace minerals are needed in smaller amounts than major minerals.

Micro minerals include chromium, cobalt, copper, fluorine, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, and zinc. They are mostly co-factors, and are necessary for the function of enzymes in the body, but are needed only in minor quantities.

Chromium activates certain enzymes involved in the production of energy. Cobalt is a part of the molecule of vitamin B12. Copper is necessary for nor-mal iron absorption. Fluorine promotes sound bones and teeth. Iodine is needed by the thyroid gland in the synthesis of the hormone thyroxine. Iron is required for the production of hemoglobin.

Magnesium, copper, selenium, zinc, iron, manganese and molybdenum are important co-factors found in the structure of certain enzymes and are indispensable in numerous biochemical pathways. Minerals with a daily requirement of less than 100mg; also called "trace minerals".

Microminerals

Properties of vitamin D

Vitamin D also known as calciferol or activated ergosterol is fat soluble. It is different from all other fat soluble vitamins, in that the body can synthesize it with the help of sunlight, from a precursor that the body makes from cholesterol.

This vitamin is necessary for normal tooth and bone formation. The active form of vitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D or calcitriol, also regulates the transcription of a number of vitamin D-dependent genes coding for calcium transporting proteins and bone matrix proteins.

Recent studies show that vitamin D status is positively correlated with health conditions such as cancer, immunity disorders, diabetes, muscle disorders and cardiovascular disease.

Deficiencies in vitamin D result in rickets (deformities of bones, such as bow-legs and curvature of the spine) and teeth defects. Fish oils, and especially fish liver oils, are excellent sources of vitamin D. The intake of foods fortified with vitamin D such as milk, cereals and orange juice can increase vitamin D in the diet.

The human body also able to synthesize this vitamin form components of the skin exposure to ultraviolet light or sunlight. Vitamin D is routinely added to milk.
Properties of vitamin D

Selenium roles in immune system

Selenium and zinc are two important minerals that help human immune system function well. Several studies have suggested that being deficient in selenium may be trigger for autoimmune thyroid disease.

Selenium is a trace mineral that human bodies use to produce glutathione peroxidase, and enzyme that’s serves as a natural antioxidant. Glutathione peroxidase works with vitamin E to protect cell membranes from damage caused by free radicals.

Selenium ranks with vitamin C and A as a powerful promoter of immunity. Selenium is an antioxidant key to preventing cancer and stopping the progression of HIV infection from developing into AIDS.

Research suggests that selenium can protect humans against cancer of the lung, ovaries, breast, colon, liver, cervix, skin, stomach and uterus. When sufficient selenium levels are achieved, the risk of getting cancer is half that of a person who is selenium deficient. There are few good food sources of selenium, so supplementation may be the best way to obtain selenium's protective benefits.

One study showed that giving 200 mcg of selenium per day decreased one of the primary antibodies in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. There is also strong link between selenium deficient and celiac disease.

People with celiac disease have malabsorption of many nutrients, selenium being one of them.

As an immune supportive mineral, selenium stimulates the development and function of all types of white blood cells and enhances the ability of lymphocytes and NK cells, or killer cells, to activate and respond to invaders such as bacteria and viruses, including the flu. Selenium works synergistically with Vitamin E, A and C as an antioxidant.

Selenium binds with many toxic minerals such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury and facilitates their excretion from the body. By detoxifying per oxidized fats, via its role in the enzyme glutathione and peroxidase, selenium inhibits their carcinogenicity (cancer promoting traits). Selenium also counteracts many of the toxic effects of smoking tobacco.
Selenium roles in immune system

Roles of vitamin A in human body

Vitamin A -active compounds, defined as compounds having qualitatively the biological activity of retinal, are represented by retinoid and pro-vitamin A carotenoids.

Vitamin A is required for several essential life processes, including metabolism, haematopoeisis, bone development, pattern formation during embryogenesis, the maintenance of differentiated epithelia, and immune-competence.

These processes can be supported by all forms of vitamin A, including the pro-vitamin A carotenoids. The other vitamin functions namely in reproduction, growth, the maintenance of skin and mucous membranes and the visual process, require either retinol or retinaldehyde.

Retinol

Vitamin A is needed to process incoming light to visual images and to keep the eye’s surface healthy. Moreover, beta-carotene –a compound that the body converts to vitamin A - is an antioxidant and thus works to neutralize harmful substances known as free radicals.

As such, beta-carotene appears to help protect the body against a variety of disorders, including cancer and heart disease.

Vitamin A is known to be involved in fetal development and in the regulation of proliferation and differentiation of many types of cells throughout life. The effects of vitamin A on cellular differentiation are due to the control of gene expression by retinoic acid in selected tissues, the protein products being responsible for the effects.

It plays a role in immune function, both as a cell regulator and by helping maintain the skin and mucous membranes.
Roles of vitamin A in human body

Glycoproteins: Definition and functions

Glycoproteins occur in fungi, green plants, viruses, bacteria and in higher animal cells where they serve a variety of functions. They are presents in extra- and intracellular fluids, connective tissue and cell membranes.

Glycoproteins together with glycolipids constitute the family of glycoconjugates, a term introduced in 1972. The structural glycoproteins are protein having one or more heterosaccharides chains. The protein moiety is quantitatively the most important constituent.

Connective tissue glycoproteins, such as the collagens and proteoglycans of various animal species, are structural elements as are the cell wall glycoproteins of yeast and green plants.

The class of glycoproteins includes a large number of biologically active substances such as enzymes, hormones, and immunoglobulins as well as structured components of blood vessels and skin. The protein in milk and egg white contain carbohydrates as do most of the serum proteins.

The diverse biological functions that these macromolecules perform, include among others, enzymatic catalysis, hormonal control, immunological protection, ion transport, blood clotting, lubrication, surface protection, structural support, cell adhesion, intercellular interaction.
Glycoproteins: Definition and functions

Protein in general

The word ‘protein’ can be defined as: any group of complex organic compounds, consisting essentially of combinations of amino acids, in peptide linkages, that contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen nitrogen and usually sulfur.

Proteins are both biological and physicochemical compounds and are essential components of every living cell. Some are utilized in the formation of regeneration of tissue; certain specific protein serve as enzymes and others as antibodies; still others fulfill indispensible functions in metabolic regulation and contractile processes.

It now appears that cellular streaming, mitosis, meiosis an cell splitting involve proteins resembling those of the contractile systems. All things considered, protein concerned with virtually all physiological events.

Proteins are involved in body structure; they make up the muscle system which constitutes more than 50% of the human body (dry weight).

In addition to their contribution of the nutritional properties of foods through provision of amino acids that are essential to human growth and maintenance, proteins impart the structural basis for various functional properties of foods.
Protein in general

Vitamin D in human body

Vitamin D is a fat soluble steroid hormone precursor that contributes to the maintenance of normal levels of calcium in the blood stream by increasing absorption of calcium from food and reducing urinary calcium loss (reabsorption by the kidneys).

Both effects keep calcium in the body and therefore spare the calcium that is stored in bones. When necessary, vitamin D transfers calcium from the bone into the bloodstream, which does not benefit bones.

The bones grow denser and stronger as they absorb and deposit the calcium.

Vitamin D is well known for its primary physiological role of regulation of calcium homeostasis in maintaining bone health.

Therefore, vitamin D prevents muscle aches, bone pains, chronic fatigue and osteoporosis.

Vitamin D plays a vital role in the normal functioning of the immune system and blood cell formation and also helps cells "differentiate"—a process that may reduce the risk of cancer.

Growing evidence indicates that vitamin D is also involved in modulating body composition, energy homeostasis, and insulin sensitivity.

From animal and human studies, researchers have hypothesized that vitamin D may protect people from tuberculosis, gum inflammation, multiple sclerosis, autoimmune arthritis, and juvenile diabetes.

Vitamin D controls the growth of normal as well as cancerous cells. It is important role in the prevention of various cancer especially cancer of the colon, prostate pancreas and breast.

Vitamin D is also needed for adequate blood levels of insulin. It stimulates the production of insulin form insulin producing cells in the pancreas.

Vitamin D isn’t actually a vitamin D produced by the body. Vitamin D3 is synthesized in human skin from 7-dehydrochoelsterol following exposure to ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation with wavelength 290 to 320 nm.

This fat soluble vitamin is transported to the liver and kidneys and become activated vitamin D.

There are two sources of vitamin D available for the human body; endogenous synthesis in the skin from exposure to sunlight and exogenous consumption in foods and/or pharmaceutical supplements.
Vitamin D in human body 

Protein as enzymes

Some proteins have an extremely important function by serving as enzymes. Enzymes make biological chemistry efficient and less wasteful of energy.

All enzymes are invariably proteins. It made of long chains of amino acids. Each enzyme is folded into a specific shape, which allows other molecules to fit into it. Each enzyme has its own tertiary structure and specific confirmation which is essential for its catalytic activity.

The functional unit of enzymes is called holoenzyme, which is often made up of apoenzyme which is a protein part and a coenzyme which is a non-protein part.

They require little energy and simple requirement’s. Enzymes work at mild conditions with respect to both temperature and pH.

In enzyme-controlled reactions the reactants are known as substrate. Enzymes have their effect by binding the substrates to a specially shaped active site in the protein molecule.  The enzymes and the substrate fit together using a lock and key mechanisms.

Anything which changes the shape of this active site stops the enzyme from working,

Enzymes speed up biological reactions inside and outside of body cells, such as respiration, protein synthesis, photosynthesis and digestion.
Protein as enzymes

What are the functions of glycogen?

The excess carbohydrates will be converted to fat and stored in body as fat.  The main stores of glycogen in the body are found in skeletal muscle and liver, although most other cells store small amounts of glycogen for their own use.

Stored glycogen is synthesized during a high carbohydrate meal due to hyperglycemia and an increase in the insulin: glucagon ratio.

Muscle glycogen 
The function of muscle glycogen is to serve as a fuel reserve for the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) during muscle contraction.

The production of energy from glucose involves oxidation of sugar with the release of water and carbon dioxide, which are easily removed from the body.

Liver glycogen
Liver glycogen function is to maintain the blood glucose levels, particularly during the early stages of a fast.

The liver releases glucose from the breakdown of glycogen and from gluconeogenesis for utilization by peripheral tissues mainly the brain cells and red blood cells.
What are the functions of glycogen?